Zhang Gou and Li Wei crossed Huai to Siyang, and soon made contact with the Red Jacket Army's outpost south of Suyu.

The sentry is the elite scout of the Red Jacket Army, each of whom is proficient in horsemanship, swords and bows, and one man with two horses; However, the number of people is too small, and in addition to scouts spying on the military, it cannot form a large-scale combat force.

In order to prevent the Huaidong Army from suddenly attacking northward, Ma Lantou placed more than 100 elite cavalry outposts in the south of Suyu, which was almost the only cavalry Ma Lantou had in Suyu.

Under the watchful eye of more than a dozen sentry posts, Zhang Gou and Li Wei's carriage passed through the wilderness south of Suyu—on both sides of the road were scrawny hungry people, and there were also groups of homeless soldiers with large guns on their backs. Obviously, the Wandering Army was very worried that the Huaidong Army in the south would suddenly come out, so they could only gather a large number of soldiers and horses in the south of Suyu and dig trenches and build fortifications in the ice and snow.

These soldiers, many of them use a sharpened wooden pole or bamboo pole as a weapon, all kinds of clothes, tattered, yellow and thin, and even called Huazi - from them, Zhang Gou can clearly recall the predicament he was in two years ago (more unbearable than back then), and his heart was panicked.

In addition to the starving people who looked like frozen corpses on the side of the road and the vagabonds who dug trenches in the ice and snow, the chaos caused by looting was also everywhere.

It's not that Ma Lantou didn't restrain his subordinates, it's just that the rice grain that Sun Zhuang secretly saved for them was only 3,000 stones. Even if you don't take into account the ordinary hungry people who followed, the displaced army and their families alone are nearly 300,000 people, and 3,000 stone of grain are stored, which can be regarded as the top of the sky for three or five days.

In order for an army to be able to do nothing wrong with the people, in addition to strict discipline, it is more important to ensure that it has sufficient material support.

It is inevitable to forcibly requisition grain from the people, even if the Red Jacket Army does not go out of the city to grab grain, it cannot restrain other homeless troops from going out of the city to loot - those hungry people who are drowning for a breath are more like hungry wolves and hungry tigers, who can have a hope of life, which will care about shame and morality?

The two counties have not yet recovered from the Huaisi War, and the people of the counties who have relocated have been struggling on the line of life and death, so they naturally desperately resist with the help of Tuweizi, trying to keep the last bit of rations for their lives, how can they avoid a fierce conflict?

It was not too late for Zhang Gou and Li Wei to come over, and the situation had not deteriorated to the point where it could not be managed.

On the one hand, the exile army has just crossed the river, and even if it wants to break through the local earthen fence to grab food, it will take some time; On the other hand, they are more worried about when the Huaidong Army will come in, and they have not yet let go of their hands and feet to grab food.

At least in the countryside south of Suyu, the soldiers and horses who collected grain wore red jackets, and they were the descendants of Ma Lantou, and the order was not chaotic, and conflicts were inevitable, but they did not develop into burning, killing and looting without scruples.

In Zhang Gou's view, the situation is not too bad; In Li Wei's view, his heart is different.

The livelihood of the people in the two counties has improved slightly, and there are countless efforts of his people in it—in fact, before that, he was thinking about the matter of enduring the spring famine—and seeing this love scene in front of him made his teeth creak.

Zhang Gou was also afraid that Li Weiqiang's temper would come up and cause bad things, so he sat in the carriage and persuaded him: "Lord Li, since ancient times, it is inevitable to collect grain for land. It's important that we meet with the red-jacketed girl, Ma Lantou and other handsomes as soon as possible to avoid the situation from getting worse......"

Li Wei let go of his clenched fist and said, "The old man knows this truth, and he won't spoil the overall situation for a little thing!" ”

The carriage entered Suyu City surrounded by the sentinels, and Ma Lantou had already received the news that Zhang Gou and Li Wei were brought into the line that he had temporarily changed from the county government.

In the official hall, there were only some simple old mulberry wooden tables, Ma Lantou was wearing brown old leather armor, standing behind the long case, staring at Zhang Gou and Li Wei who walked into the hall.

"Swallowing Tengu, if you come today to say surrender for your new master, I advise you to save your efforts. In the past, I invite you to have a drink, and you will go back, and don't say anything that makes everyone unable to get off the stage. Ma Lan bluffed his face, and when Zhang Gou came to surrender, he blocked his words on the spot.

Zhang Gou looked at Ma Lantou calmly, before he came to Suyu, he knew that Liu Miaozhen led an elite Chen Zhihu to guard the west of Huaiyang, and he could only see Ma Lantou in Suyu today.

Ma Lan's sturdy body was slightly rickety, his cheeks were thin and sunken, he was only in his early forties, and his stubble, which looked like a steel needle, was frosty and white, and the white hair on both manes was extra dazzling.

Zhang Gou was full of emotion for a while, but since Sun Zhuang went to Siyang to join the prison, he completely regarded himself as a member of Huaidong, and there was no tangled thoughts in his heart, he took a slight breath, and said: "The pole master has given my family a pardon for death, and temporarily filled the army for retention, I am here to take the pole master's family to Huaidong, I want to come to Ma Shuai will not be difficult, right?" ”

Ma Lantou stared at Zhang Gou suspiciously, in other words, he wouldn't have too many worries, this swallowing dog was more difficult for people to see, and asked, "How can I trust you?" ”

"Is it to kill or stay, do my adults need to be sneaky, why don't you believe it?" Zhang Gou asked, "Even if the family of the pole master and the eleventh brother are left in Suyu - how many days, three or five days, or ten days and eight days can the grain and grass in Suyu be supported?" ”

Ma Lantou's face sank, and he said: "I remember the old feelings, and I don't make it difficult for you, but you earn my bottom line!" "It's just that Zhang Gou said this to test this side.

"I don't know, what details is worth exploring about Ma Shuai?" Zhang Gou said with a smile, "Master Pole will throw the two cities to you, and the grain storage in the city is only 3,000 stones." If you can knock down the soil fences in the two counties, you can still grab about 20,000 or 30,000 stone grains—what are you going to eat when these 20,000 or 30,000 stone grains are used up? Do you eat human flesh? ”

Zhang Gou's words were bloody and piercing, Ma Lantou had a gloomy face, there had been a tragedy of Yi Zi eating in Huaiyang City, he lied to himself, listening to Zhang Gou's words, his face seemed to be slapped hard!

"Where are you going?" Zhang Gou continued to ask, "Chen Zhihu in the west, Chen Hansan in the north, Liang Chengchong in the northeast, Xiao Kuian in the east, and Tao Chun in the southeast. ”

"Joke, we have a division of 100,000 tigers and wolves, the world is so big, where can't we go? If you wait for the net, I will also have the confidence to pull the sloppy," Ma Lan stared at Zhang Gou with sharp eyes, and said, "If the Huaidong Army wants to fight, it is to lead the troops to fight by themselves, and whoever is afraid is not born by the mother." Engaging in such nonsense will make people look down on you! ”

"I want to ask: There are many handsome, how many people are willing to fight with the red-jacketed girl and Ma Shuai?" Zhang Gou ignored Ma Lantou's fierce voice and said, "According to what I said, if it weren't for Chen Zhihu not leaving a living under the butcher's knife in the west, there would be more than one or two families who want to find a way to live!" ”

"It's going to rain, my mother is going to get married, who can take care of so many things! Besides, there is no shortage of those soft and useless goods," Ma Lan walked back to the bookcase with hatred, supported the desk with his hand, stared at Zhang Gou with fierce eyes, and said, "If Huaidong wants to recruit this kind of goods, I will never stop it!" ”

The military affairs of the northern front were overseen by Cao Ziang, and as a detailed plan for secretly lending rice and grain to the Wandering Army, it was also specifically determined by Cao Ziang, and as a condition of exchange, the various restrictions on the Wandering Army would naturally not be as simple as Lin Jian had originally ordered.

Zhang Gou and Li Wei came over, first of all, to test where the bottom line of the Liumin Army was, and also hoped that the Liumin Army on the Huaisi front line could eliminate the chaotic phenomenon - at present, there are more than 100,000 soldiers and horses in the Liumin Army that have retreated to the Huaisi line, although the Red Jacket Army led by Liu Miaozhen and Ma Lantou is the leader, but there are more than a dozen families on other hills, each with thousands to more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, mixed together. On the one hand, it is not easy to stabilize in the Huaisi area, who knows when suddenly a Qu Shuai will advocate without authorization, and take the people and horses to take the gap and go elsewhere; On the other hand, it is obviously extremely inconvenient for Huaidong to grasp the situation here.

Hearing that Ma Lantou didn't seem to mind Huaidong recruiting other handsomes, Zhang Gou and Li Wei glanced at each other, and knew that Ma Lantou's insistence in his heart was really limited, if the girl in the red jacket also had this thought, she could spread it out and talk about it.

"Master Li and I want to meet the eldest lady...... Zhang Gou said.

"I won't stop you from seeing those soft eggs, whoever the fuck loves to go, but Sister Bu, I think you still have this heart. It is true that An Shuai died in the death of Chen Hansan, but who laid the trap, you and I both know in our hearts that others can vote for Huaidong, and I and the eldest lady will never ......" Ma Lantou said categorically.

What is the situation of Sui Ning and Su Yu, Ma Lantou also knows it in his heart.

Sun Zhuang gave up the two cities, just to let them breathe a sigh of relief, and they could get ten days and eight days of rest to the sky. They can't break through Chen Zhihu's blockade from the west, let alone break through the defense line of the Huaidong Army to the south, and the soldiers and horses of Chen Hansan and the Liang family are in the north, and it is easy to break through? What good would it do to break through one city or two cities in the east? Further east is the sea.

Do you really want to eat human flesh?

When they were trapped in Huaiyang, Ma Lantou and Liu Miaozhen did not stop others from going out to surrender, so they would not stop others from surrendering to Huaidong at this time. As for Huaidong's mind, is it as vicious as Chen Zhihu and Yue Lengqiu? Everyone can only ask for more blessings! As for whether Sun Zhuang has already voted for Huaidong, Ma Lantou will not complain about him. Sun Zhuang has already done too much to them, even if they meet on the battlefield in Japan, Sun Zhuang will not owe them half a point......

"If Huaidong borrows you 40,000 stone rice grains every month, the eldest lady and Ma Shuai will never agree?" Zhang Gou asked.

"......" Ma Lantou was stunned for a moment, didn't react for a while, and was stunned for a while, before he said angrily, "Swallowing Tengu, you are also a person of identity, thinking that if I wait until the mountains and rivers are exhausted, I will let you tease me?" ”

Li Wei calmed down at this time and said, "The two of us have worked hard to come here, just to tease you?" If it weren't for the fact that hundreds of thousands of hungry people were in danger, if it weren't for the fact that they didn't help again, the land of Huaisi would be ruined again, who would be willing to take the risk of taking this fate? ”

"I heard that your master wants to be the king of Huaidong, I'm afraid I don't have a good heart!" Ma Lantou was shocked in his heart, but he didn't want to weaken his momentum, so he sneered at Zhang Gou.

"You yourself stood at the head of the city and saw that the hungry people in the city and outside the city, on the streets and beside the road, one by one, how many breaths were left to live? Huaidong worked hard to squeeze out 40,000 stone rice grains every month, you said that Huaidong has ambitions, you touch your chest and say, these hungry people who don't even have the strength to walk, are it worth Huaidong to put their ambitions on them? Zhang Gou asked rhetorically.

40,000 stone of rice grain per month, 480,000 stone a year-

Chen Zhihu is a murderous madman, but some people voted for Tao Chun in the south, and even some people went to a dead end and had no shame and wanted to hook up with Chen Hansan in Xuzhou, but they didn't pay attention to it - why? No one has so much rice grain in their hands, and even if they do, no one will use this rice grain to feed these sub-army.

The Wandering Army seems to have 100,000 soldiers and horses, but Chen Zhihu only has 10,000 elites and 10,000 miscellaneous soldiers in the west to seal it, so they can't get through at all!

480,000 stone rice grain a year, it's hard to say more, it's more than enough to raise 20,000 or 30,000 elites - Ma Lantou couldn't see where Lin Lian's vision was far-reaching, and he had nothing to say to refute Zhang Gou.

Blocking Zhang Gou's words, Ma Lantou sat down dejectedly and said, "You don't have any conditions, you say!" ”

"First of all, you must not threaten or attempt to enter the eastern shore of Surabaya and the edge of the willow fence of Siyang, and you must not build fortifications on the west bank of Surabaya and the north side of Siyang. Every 10 days, the Siyang side will send rice and grain to the area to ......be received by the Red Jacket Army," Zhang Gou said.

Hearing the harsh conditions, Ma Lantou knew that they didn't actually have a choice.

Two years ago, the Shushui Battalion and the Yishui Battalion were easily captured by the Huaidong Army. Now he has laid a lot of soldiers and horses to form a defensive line in the south of Suyu, but it is actually as fragile as paper.

It doesn't make much sense to build a fortress or not.

"You go on......" said Ma Lantou.

"Now there are dozens of military leaders and commanders here, and more than 100,000 soldiers and horses - we are willing to see you retain 30,000 or 40,000 elite soldiers with the Red Jacket Army as the core, so that the government and military orders are the same, and the discipline is strict. Only in this way can the situation here be stabilized and the people's livelihood restored. We don't want to see chaos and chaos, and people's livelihood continues to wither and cripple! Zhang Gou said, "Now that the three cities are under the control of the Red Jacket Army, more people just want to survive - we will only hand over rice and grain to the Red Jacket Army - it will not be too difficult to do this!" ”

The fatal flaws brought about by the bloated and chaotic army of the Wandering People's Army, Ma Lantou has a deep sense of experience.

Just like the siege of Huaiyang, it is not difficult for Liu Miaozhen to lead 20,000 elite soldiers to break out, and even in the past half a year, he has clashed with Chen Zhihu's department several times, and he has not suffered any losses, but it is extremely difficult to break through with 100,000 soldiers and horses-

Therefore, Ma Lantou didn't mind Huaidong recruiting other Qu Shuai's subordinates before, so didn't he want to get rid of these burdens in his heart?

As for the other vagrant army marshals, at the moment, they are more interested in saving their own lives and their families' lives, and the pressure to reduce their military power will not be too great—not to mention that they will control the rice and grain secretly delivered by Huaidong in the future.

The number of troops was reduced to 30,000, and not only would the combat effectiveness not be weakened, but the soldiers and their families could also live in the city, and there would be no fortifications in the south, let alone a problem.

Such conditions are beneficial to the Red Jacket Army.

It is precisely because of this that Ma Lantou is more and more suspicious that Zhang Gou is entertaining him or that there is a conspiracy behind him that he can't guess for a while!